just noticed....

[74]

Well, I took the thing for along drive today in the thing. It was the first long ride, and the first ride of the season. Before I bought the car it sat for about 10 years. after some work it runs perfectly. but while on my drive today i noticed 2 things that someone might be able to help me with.
1.) when I turn on the heater after some time smoke comes into the cab. and the plastic duct in the cab gets really hot and soft. My thoughts are that it might be coming from sitting for a while and just needs to "burn off" what ever is in there, or maybe the carpet glue...
2.) I plugged in my charger for my IPOD, the charger light turns on, then when i plug in the IPOD the light turns off.

[kubelmann]

How can VW, iPod and Thing be in the same message?

[Kherome]

Haha! My thoughts exactly!

[iltis74]

Ok, I see you go by 74, but when you say heater are you referring to a gas heater or heater boxes? I had a leaky valve cover once that would drip right onto the heater box and slowly smoke me out.

[surfarii]

[Captain Spalding]

Stereo with Aux-In jack on the face.

+
Retractable stereo cord

+
iPod Cup Holder Cradle

+
Cup holder

[Acetone Jack]

You most likely have a crossed wire, or a faulty voltage regulator.

Just for clarification are you running the i-pod through a stereo like Cap'n?

Thing generators aren't exactly known for their oodles of power( or there

reliability in supplying 12v DC ). Hit that baby with a test light /

multimeter, see what kind of power its giving off.


You can buy after market Alternators which I hear are a 10 minute

installation, this will give you an absurd amount of power to play with

( Off road lights, Amplifiers, Sub woofers, neon-ground lights, [what have

you] ) and a more consistent 11.5 - 12 ish v.

[bmwloco]

I just bought a 30 Watt Dual Cassette unit with an input jack (for my iPod) from Amazon.com for $36 delivered. It's got good reviews, and if someone decides to rip it out, fine.

Blaupunkt speakers on eBay for $30 delivered. A $16 Antenna from The Thing Shop and I'll be up and listening to tunes in my Thing for all of $82 and an our or two of my time.

Not bad.

[dixonmanor]

I don't know a thing about wiring, so I can't help you there. But, for all the doubters, and iPod is a great way to get sound in the Thing. My set-up is as follows: amp in the trunk, volume knob on dash (in exisiting hole), iPod charger/player under the dash (basically a cable that runs from the amp to the iPod, and both charges and plays the Pod), speakers under the back seats, speakers in the kick-panels.

This way, the system is totally removable without damage to the car. I was able to leave the stock under-dash VW AM radio unmolested (albeit not wired into the speakers) and from outside the car, it looks totally stock. Also, no-one thinks to rip off the high-end stereo they can't see.

[74]

I guess an IPOD does seem a bit high tech for the thing but it makes the ride go ssssooooo smoothly.

as far as heat. I do not have a gas heater in it. just the stock heater in it. and it doesn't seem to do it till the heat gets pretty hot (to the touch on that plastic thing on the floor (sorry about the technical terms used in my reply). if it is a leaky valve cover, how do I fix it?

thank you for the replies...

[sam_w]

I have found an MP3 player that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket, and plays one's thumb drive through the radio.

http://shoptronics.com/baqmp3tofmra.html

has anyone tried one? It looks a neat solution and it is easier to load a thumb drive with music than to burn CD's

PS I tried to link the picture but it does not show properties.
_________________
63 singlecab
73 thingster
74 Thing

[Captain Spalding]

I haven't tried that particular gadget, but I have tried a couple of FM transmitters with the iPod. How well it works depends on where you live. In my town, the radio dial is jam packed, and there are no open stations that the gadget you referenced broadcasts on.

I like the USB drive idea though. The largest ones I've seen are only 4GB.

[kubelmann]

I have one and it works as long as the FM waves are unconjested. Target sells them for $30..

[bmwloco]

I bought one of the cigarette lighter FM transmitters for $8, found it on some Mac web site a couple years ago.

Works as advertised, but if you drive into an area with a station on the frequency, tough nuts.

[honky]

You should not be getting that kind of heat into the cab )unless it is a gas heater)Are you sure the motor is not running real hot.